How many men work in the English early years sector? Why is the low figure so ‘stubbornly resistant to change’?

This study draws on data from the GenderEYE project, research conducted in England between 2018 and 2020, which aimed to examine the recruitment, support and retention of male teachers within early years education (EYE) with a view of developing a more gender diverse workforce in this sector. Data collection was by means of a survey, 9 case studies with early years settings and interviews with key stakeholders. In this study, we examine a key finding about the persistently low numbers of male EYE professionals, linking this to another finding concerning a lack of specific strategy to recruit and support men.     

The Contribution of Emotion Perceptions and Their Overgeneralizations to Trait Impressions

This study tested the hypothesis derived from ecological theory that adaptive social perceptions of emotion expressions fuel trait impressions. Moreover, it was predicted that these impressions would be overgeneralized and perceived in faces that were not intentionally posing expressions but nevertheless varied in emotional demeanor. To test these predictions, perceivers viewed 32 untrained targets posing happy, surprised, angry, sad, and fearful expressions and formed impressions of their dominance and affiliation. When targets posed happiness and surprise they were perceived as high in dominance and affiliation whereas when they posed anger they were perceived as high in dominance and low in affiliation. When targets posed sadness and fear they were perceived as low in dominance. As predicted, many of these impressions were overgeneralized and attributed to targets who were not posing expressions. The observed effects were generally independent of the impact of other facial cues (i.e., attractiveness and babyishness).     

Incorporating flow into practice and performance

In the music profession, individuals often work under stress filled conditions. This is especially true for individuals making their living as performing musicians. Musical performance anxiety has been well documented in both students and professionals. For some, the experience may lead to a termination of what might otherwise remain a successful performing career. Humans are susceptible to anxiety and so the phenomenon of musical performance anxiety is not likely to disappear. Learning how to effectively deal with musical performance anxiety is paramount for those in the performing arts. Entering a state of flow, in which there is total absorption in an activity, allows for the possiblity of any ensuing anxiety to become facilitative, rather than debilitative. This article will discuss several characteristics of flow, as defined by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, and provide practical applications for musical practice and performance in an attempt to counterbalance musical performance anxiety. Musicians will benefit from a closer examination of the elements of flow and means of incorporating these elements into practice and performance.     

Strengthening field education in aging through university-community agency partnership: the Practicum Partnership Program

The Practicum Partnership Program (PPP), an innovative field education model developed and implemented by six demonstration sites over four years (2000-2004), uses a structured university-community partnership, or consortium, as the foundation for designing, implementing, and evaluating internships for graduate social work students specializing in aging. This paper describes the site consortia and PPP programs, presents evaluation findings, and identifies future directions for the PPP. Student learning outcomes were positive and both students and consortia agencies reported positive PPP experiences. The PPP model underscores the value of the community agencies as equal partners in educating future geriatric social workers.     

The Drift Toward Problem Behavior During the Transition to Adolescence: The Contributions of Youth Disclosure,Parenting, and Older Siblings

Prospective associations of mothers’ parenting processes, youth disclosure, and youth problem behavior were examined in a longitudinal design following 244 adolescent sibling dyads over a 3‐year period. For both siblings, authoritative parenting was positively associated with youth disclosure and was negatively related to problem behavior, and coercive parenting was negatively associated with youth disclosure and was positively related to problem behavior. When the influence of older sibling problem behavior on younger sibling problem behavior was modeled, younger sibling disclosure accounted for the relationship of maternal parenting processes to problem behavior. Findings indicate the important role of sibling influence in the development of problem behavior, contextualizing the relative roles of maternal parenting and youth disclosure in the transmission of risk.     

End-of-Life Conversations and Hospice Placement: Association with Less Aggressive Care Desired in the Nursing Home

Education about end-of-life care and treatment options, communication between family and health care providers, and having advance directives and medical orders in place are important for older adults with chronic, progressive decline and end-stage disease who spend their last days in the nursing home. This study used retrospective data (6 months before death) of long-stay nursing home decedents (N?=?300) taken from electronic health records to capture the end-of-life experience. Findings showed for almost all decedents, Do Not Resuscitate and Do Not Intubate orders were in place, and just over one-half had Do Not Hospitalize and No Artificial Feeding orders in place. A small proportion had No Artificial Hydration or No Antibiotic orders in place. Overall, there was congruence between documented medical orders and treatment received. Findings showed that use of hospice and discussions about particular life-sustaining treatments each had significant associations with having less aggressive medical orders in place. These results can inform best practice development to promote high quality, person-directed, end-of-life care for nursing home residents.     

The School: The Crossroads for Collaboration

This essay argues that the time has come to restructure schools to allow the “whole” child to receive service at the school. The provision of time, place, and personnel to respond to the needs of today's children might facilitate their academic progress. If students and families can find support in one location, perhaps anxiety can be reduced and academics can be strengthened. The school can do little on its own to help children whose lives are in chaos due to poverty, hunger, abuse, ill health, family disintegration, neglect, fear, or hopelessness. Collateral collaboration needs to evolve in which professional development is a shared responsibility of all agencies that serve a community.